List of Stanley Cup Finals broadcasters
The following is a list of the television and radio networks/stations (American, Canadian, and French Canadian) and announcers that have broadcast Stanley Cup Finals series over the years. American Television National television 2010s Notes * 2014 – In the United States, NBC broadcasts games 1 and 2, NBCSN broadcast games 3 and 4, while NBC televised the remaining games. NBC Sports originally planned to repeat its coverage pattern from the last few seasons: NBCSN would televise Game 2 and 3, while NBC would broadcast Game 1, and then the remaining games from 4-7. After the league scheduled Game 2 on the day of the 2014 Belmont Stakes, coverage of Games 2 and 4 were switched so NBC's telecast of the horse race would serve as lead-in programming to Game 2. * NBC and NBCSN will televise the Stanley Cup Finals through 2021. 2000s Notes * 2009 - Game 7 was the final major sporting event on analog television in the United States, with the DTV transition finishing less than 1 1/2 after the game ended and just 1 hour after NBC coverage ended. NBC affiliates WDIV-TV in Detroit and WPXI in Pittsburgh – who months before the Stanley Cup playoffs began electing to keep their own respective analog signals on until June 12, well past the original February 17 deadline – both remained on the air for game 7 before cutting their analog signals at 11:59 EDT. * As part of NBC's coverage, Pierre McGuire, while positioned as a rinkside reporter, provides color commentary from his vantage point - known as Inside the Glass. 1990s Notes * From 1995–1999, FOX split coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals with ESPN. Game 1 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals was the first Finals game shown on network television since 1980 and the first in prime time since 1973. FOX was scheduled to air Games 1, 5, and 7; ESPN was scheduled to air Games 2, 3, 4, and 6. However, from 1995 to 1998, the Finals were all 4 game sweeps; 1999 ended in 6 games. The consequence was that – except for 1995, when FOX did televise Game 4 - the decisive game was never on network television. Perhaps in recognition of this, Games 3–7 were always televised by ABC in the succeeding broadcast agreement between the NHL and ABC Sports/ESPN. 1980s Notes * 1989 - SportsChannel's coverage aired on PRISM in the Philadelphia area. SportsChannel Philadelphia did not launch until January 1990. Both SportsChannel and PRISM were owned by Rainbow Media. * 1980 - Games 1–5 on Hughes used CBC's feed. For CBS' coverage of Game 6 (which served as a special edition of the CBS Sports Spectacular anthology series), Dan Kelly did play-by-play, Lou Nanne did color commentary, and Tim Ryan served as ice level reporter. This would be the last time that a National Hockey League game would be broadcast on American network television for 10 years (until the 1990 NHL All-Star Game aired on NBC), and the Stanley Cup Finals game on broadcast-network television until 1995. ** Game 6 pulled a 4.4 rating on CBS. After the game ended, except for the New York and Philadelphia affiliates, CBS dropped the telecast and went to a previously-scheduled golf telecast, the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. New York and Philadelphia viewers got a postgame show before they joined the very end of the golf broadcast. Given that the game went into overtime, CBS cut away from hockey during the intermission between the end of regulation and the start of overtime to present 10 minutes of live golf coverage, with the golf announcers repeatedly mentioning that the network would return to hockey in time for the start of sudden-death. 1970s Notes * In 1979, ABC was contracted to televise Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Since the Finals ended in 5 games, the contract was void. * Starting in the 1978 playoffs, the NHL Network began simulcasting many games with Hockey Night in Canada. This happened in Game 7 of the quarter-final series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders. The entire 1979 Stanley Cup Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers was simulcast as well. * The 1976 Stanley Cup Finals on the NHL Network marked the first time that the NHL's championship series was nationally televised in its entirety in the United States. ** Stan Mikita, Garry Unger, Chico Resch, and Curt Bennett each did one game as analyst. All were active players at the time. * 1971 - CBS was not scheduled to broadcast Game 7, but showed the prime time contest after thousands of viewers called the network asking that it be broadcast. The game was blacked out in Chicago, as well as in much of the Midwest, in deference to theater TV. * In 1970, Pat Summerall and then-Boston Bruins' TV announcer Don Earle did a short post-game segment from inside the team's dressing room at the end of CBS' coverage of game 4 (and what turned out to be the final game) of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals. WSBK-38, which was the team's the Bruins' TV flagship then, simulcast the CBS coverage and did a longer post-game locker-room segment after CBS' coverage ended. 1960s Notes * NBC's coverage of the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals marked the first time that hockey games were televised in color on network TV. CBC wouldn't follow suit until the following year. NBC's Stanley Cup coverage preempted a sports anthology series called NBC Sports in Action hosted by Jim Simpson and Bill Cullen, who were between-periods co-hosts for NBC's Stanley Cup broadcasts. * Bob Wolff and Emile Francis were commentators for New York Rangers games seen over RKO General's WOR-TV New York during the 1965-66 season. ** Although the TV listings page of the May 5, 1966 edition of the Boston Globe indicated that RKO-owned WNAC-TV in Boston would not carry the game, the then-ABC-affiliated station did clear the broadcast at the last minute. Local television 1990s Notes * Games 4 and 5 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals was broadcast in the New York City area on MSG II because of MSG Network's commitment with the New York Yankees. 1994 was also the last time that local broadcasting of playoff games past the first two rounds was allowed. 1980s 1970s 1960s American local/national coverage policy for Stanley Cup Finals * 1995–present: National coverage (network and cable) exclusive. * 1981–1994: Local coverage permitted for all games. National coverage (cable) not exclusive. * 1976–1980: National coverage on syndicated networks exclusive. * 1968–1975: Local coverage permitted for non-network games. National network telecasts exclusive. Canadian Television National Television 2010s Notes * Beginning in 2010, Glenn Healy was positioned between the team benches and provided color commentary in addition to reporting. * From 2010 to 2014, the Hockey Night in Canada i-Desk was contributed by Elliotte Friedman, Andi Petrillo, Jeff Marek and Scott Morrison. * 2014 was the last year under the league's previous Canadian TV contracts with CBC (English broadcasts of the Finals) and the cable network TSN (English broadcasts), and RDS (French broadcasts). The NHL's twelve-year contract with Rogers Communicationswould then take effect beginning next season, with English-language national coverage of the Finals being sub-licensed to CBC, and French-language telecasts being sub-licensed to TVA Sports. TSN will only be showing regional games for Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg starting the fall of 2014. ** The Stanley Cup Finals will be televised by CBC through at least 2026. 2000s 1990s Notes * 1997 - Ron MacLean did not host entire series as he was attending the funeral of Don Cherry's wife, Rose. 1980s Notes * Game 4 (May 24) of the 1988 Stanley Cup Finals is well known for fog that interfered with the game and a power outage that caused its cancellation before a faceoff. The game ended with the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins tied at 3–3. CBC televised Game 5 (on May 26), for which Oilers won 6–3. * Even though CTV decided to pull the plug on their 2 year-old (lasting from 1984–85 through 1985–86) NHL broadcasting venture with the Carling O'Keefe brewing company (citing low ratings and an inability to clear other programming for both regular season and playoff telecasts), Carling O'Keefe retained their rights. This soon lead to them syndicating 1987 and 1988 playoff telecasts on a chain of channels that would one day become the Global Television Network. The Global Television Network broadcasts were aired under the names Stanley Cup '87 and Stanley Cup '88, before a merger between Carling O'Keefe and Molson (the presenters of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC) put an end to the competition. ** Contrary to the broadcasts from the previous CTV deal (in which they split the Stanley Cup Finals coverage with CBC), the Canwest-Global telecasts were network exclusive, except for Game 7 of the 1987 Finals. Therefore, both CBC and Canwest-Global televised the seventh game while using separate production facilities and separate on-air talent. ** In 1988, Global-Canwest had the rights to Games 6 and 7 of the Finals, which ultimately, were not necessary. * For the 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons, CTV aired regular season games on Friday nights (and some Sunday afternoons) as well as partial coverage of the playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals. While Molson continued to present Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights on CBC, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing Friday Night Hockey on CTV. This marked the first time since beginning broadcasting in 1952 that CBC was not the lone over-the-air network broadcaster of the Stanley Cup Finals in Canada. From 1967-through 1975, both CBC and CTV aired NHL games, but it was from a Molson-led Hockey Night in Canada package that was split. CBC got the Saturday games and the playoffs; Wednesday-night regular-season games appeared on CTV. * In 1986, CBC only televised Games 1 and 2 in Montreal and Calgary. CBC would go on to televise Games 3-5 nationally. When CTV televised Games 1 and 2, both games were blacked out in Montreal and Calgary. Had the series gone to a Game 7, then both CBC and CTV would have televised it while using their own production facilities and crews. * In 1985, CBC televised Games 1 and 2 nationally while Games 3, 4 and 5 were televised in Edmonton only. CTV televised Games 3-5 nationally while games were blacked out in Edmonton. 1970s Notes * In 1972, Hockey Night in Canada moved all playoff coverage from CBC to CTV (in actuality, MacLaren Advertising, Ltd., the actual rights holders of HNIC at the time, worked out arrangements with CTV to move the full NHL playoffs there) to avoid conflict with the lengthy NABET strike against the CBC. 1960s Notes * The 1961 Stanley Cup Finals were almost not televised in Canada at all. At that time, the CBC only had rights to the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs' games; home games only during the season and all games in the playoffs. However, with both the Canadiens and Maple Leafs eliminated in the semi-finals, the CBC's worst nightmare became reality. The CBC had to conceive a way to carry the Finals between the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings or face public revolt. According to lore, the CBC found a way to link their Windsor viewers as having a vested interest in the Finals with the across the river Red Wings. Thus, CBC was able to carry the series after inking special contracts with the Red Wings and Black Hawks as a service to the Windsor market. From Windsor, CBC linked the signal to Toronto and they relayed the coverage Dominion-wide. From there, Canadians were able to see the Finals with nary a glitch in the coverage. CBC's broadcast of the sixth and climatic game was simulcast on WGN-TVChicago; the station would begin broadcasting Chicago Blackhawks road games on a regular basis that Fall. * 1966 - To accommodate the American TV coverage on NBC (1966 marked the first time that a Stanley Cup Finals game was to be nationally broadcast on American network television), Game 1 of the Finals was shifted to a Sunday afternoon. This in return, was the first time ever that a National Hockey League game was played on a Sunday afternoon in Montreal. While Games 1 and 4 of the NBC broadcasts were televised in color, CBC carried these games and all other games in black and white. 1950s Notes * 1954 - CBC's coverage of Games 3, 4 and 5 were joined in progress at 9:30 p.m. (approximately one hour after start time). Meanwhile, CBC joined Game 6 in at 10:00 p.m. (again, one hour after start time). Game 7 was carried Dominion wide (nationwide) from opening the face off at 9:00 p.m. Since Game 7 was played on Good Friday night, there were no commercials (Imperial Oil was the sponsor). Local television 1980s